Too much beneficial bacteria? And a few other questions

[Amsomething]

I set up my first tiny-- 33-gallon-- pond this spring. I was a little over-zealous p) in purchasing pond plants, so I've would up having to make a few more water-features in order to keep most of my plants (though my water hyacinths have been reproducing so quickly that I've wound up drying out and then composting a bunch of them.

Before I ask my questions, let me give you a little more information about my "ponds."

POND #1

• 33 gallons (about 12"-14" deep at its deepest)
• Plants and snails only (still over-planted despite cleaning it out)-- 2 small pickerel rush, 2 small water lillies, several small-to-medium water lettuces, 1 potted creeping Jenny, some oxygenating submerged plants, a few parrot feathers, and way too many water hyacinths. I have intentionally put two Japanese trapdoor snails in the pond, but I also have a ton of "hitchhiker" pond snails and a few ramshorn snails (that I know of)
• This pond is intended to be a "wildlife" pond only. I REALLY want dragonflies to move in, but so far, it is primarily a drinking/bathing spot for birds, butterflies, bees and wasps, and rabbits.
• I have three medium airstones to keep some movement in parts of the pond so the water does not get too stagnant, but there are a few small areas that are fairly still, so I have a mosquito dunk in that area. The airstones are solar, so they're only on during the day.
• The water has been treated about four times with beneficial bacteria ("sludge remover") to help keep the sludge under control.
• The pond has no visible algae issues, though I have pulled a few clumps of string algae out of one section of the pond.
• The water is fairly clear where I can see down into it.

WATER FEATURE #2

• In a 18" planter that is approximately 14"-16" deep
• Has 4-5 large water hyacinths (I keep taking out any additional plants to dry out and compost) and several clumps of oxygenating underwater plants.
• Has two TINY (1.25"?) "feeder" goldfish and two very small (1.75"?) "feeder" goldfish, plus a number of hitchhiker pond snails. I've had the fish for about 5-6 weeks and they seem happy and healthy.
• Has a little bit of duckweed floating on top, but the fish have been nibbling at the duckweed, so it's not out-of-control.
• I only feed the fish a small amount of homemade gel food and/or smashed Koi/goldfish sticks about 2-3 times/week. They are growing and active, so this seems to be enough. They also seem to eat duckweed, algae, insects that fall onto the surface of the water, cyclops, and maybe some of the plants.
• Has two small airstones to oxygenate the water. The airstones are solar, so they're only on during the day. I know that's not ideal for the fish, but I don't have electricity out there.
• Has been treated with beneficial bacteria that least 4 times in the past 5-6 weeks (when i set it up, and after big rains).
• Water testing shows everything is in normal limits.
• The water is quite clear.

WATER FEATURE #3

• In a 18" planter that is approximately 14"-16" deep
• Has 2 small water lillies, 1 large water hyacinth (I keep taking out any additional plants to dry out and compost), two small water lettuces, and several clumps of oxygenating underwater plants.
• Has two very small (1.75"?) "feeder" goldfish, one Japanese trapdoor snail, plus a number of hitchhiker pond snails. I've had the fish for about 2 weeks and they seem VERY happy and healthy.
• I only feed the fish small amount of homemade gel food and/or smashed Koi/goldfish sticks about 2-3 times/week. They are VERY active, so this seems to be enough. They also seem to eat duckweed, algae, insects that fall onto the surface of the water, cyclops, and maybe some of the plants.
• Has two small airstones to oxygenate the water. The airstones are solar, so they're only on during the day. I know that's not ideal for the fish, but I don't have electricity there.
• Has been treated with beneficial bacteria twice in the past 2 weeks (when i set it up, and again today)
• Water testing shows everything is in normal limits.
• The water is quite clear.

WATER FEATURE #4

• In a 14" "deck rail" planter
• Has 4-6 large water hyacinths (I keep taking any additional ones out to dry out and compost) and one small creeping Jenny.
• Has a bunch of tiny pond snails.
• Has been treated with beneficial bacteria three (?) times in the past 5-6 weeks (when i set it up, and after big rains).
• The water is "muddy," but this planter has aquatic soil in the bottom because it used to have water lillies in it before I moved them.
• The water is not aerated, so I do have a mosquito dunk in it to control mosquito breeding.

So, my questions are:

1) Am I "overdosing" my ponds with beneficial bacteria? I usually only put in a small sprinking if using powder, or a few drops of liquid (the dosage recommended on the containers), but I've used it more often than I think I should. Is it possible to overdose the pond?
Today, however, I accidentally spilled about five tablespoons of powder (which is about 50x more than the normal dosage) into water feature #4 (no fish, water hyacinths only).

2) Do you think my fish will continue to be okay with me using plants as the primary way of filtering the water? I don't have filters in their pots (airstones only), and I don't do official water changes (though they get evaporation and rain water "changes "). Am I being negligent?

3) Is it okay that I don't have very much "open" water, and that plants cover the vast majority of the water surface? (In addition to hiding under the plants, the fish also have a few underwater "structures" they can hide behind)

4) Do you see nothing alarming about any of what I've written above? Other than my pond/water features clearly being over-planted?


Thank you for your help!

 

[JRS]

Welcome to the forum!

The nitrogen cycle that breaks down the fish waste with beneficial bacteria typically takes 4-8 weeks in a brand new sterile tank or water feature. The bacteria additives are designed/marketed to speed this up. I see no reason to keep adding this in your well established water features, especially with the abundance of plants you have. What are your water tests? if zero for ammonia and nitrite, the most dangerous, you are in good shape.

1. Likely not a problem. If ever in doubt, do a partial water change.
2. They should be OK with the plant filters, especially if you are aerating also. Be careful of just filling an evaporated container for a long period of time and never removing water, whether manually or rain overflow, the concentrated waste remains with just evaporation. Size of the fish and amount of feeding are factors also.
3. As long as they have room to swim freely and the aeration for oxygen exchange they should be OK, monitor this as they grow.
4. Seems like you have everything covered and are doing a good job

 

[j.w]

@Amsomething

 

[Ray G]

Hi there. sounds like you are doing a good job. WIth all the plants and wildlife in the ponds you will have all the bacteria you need already in there now. Keep an eye out for rotting plants and if that occurs remove it. If the fish are active you have no real problem. We would all like photos of your set up so we can see what you have done. Thanks for the detailed descriptions by the way!! I dont think you have much to worry about at this stage. Also as not much light can get into the water you probably wont have an algae problem. The plants growing actively will use all the nitrogen in the water I suspect.

 

[Amsomething]

Hi there. sounds like you are doing a good job. WIth all the plants and wildlife in the ponds you will have all the bacteria you need already in there now. Keep an eye out for rotting plants and if that occurs remove it. If the fish are active you have no real problem. We would all like photos of your set up so we can see what you have done. Thanks for the detailed descriptions by the way!! I dont think you have much to worry about at this stage. Also as not much light can get into the water you probably wont have an algae problem. The plants growing actively will use all the nitrogen in the water I suspect.

I'll take photos tomorrow, once it stops raining (with lightning, so I don't want to go outside). It certainly isn't pretty, but it's functional... for now.

 

[Ray G]

I'll take photos tomorrow, once it stops raining (with lightning, so I don't want to go outside). It certainly isn't pretty, but it's functional... for now.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder!

 

[addy1]

Welcome to our forum!

Do you think my fish will continue to be okay with me using plants as the primary way of filtering the water? I don't have filters in their pots (airstones only), and I don't do official water changes (though they get evaporation and rain water "changes "). Am I being negligent?

I filter with only plants, a lot of them but only plants.

My ponds get water added if they run low, ow they get rain water.
So no you are not being negligent.

 

[JamieB]

The only issue I see is you’ll need a bigger pond soon! The fish grow quick, and then before you know it, they have babies, then you get too much waste and end up with algae... My simple feeders are now 5-6 years old, roughly a foot long each, and I literally gave away over a hundred of last years babies. And still have more left over.
The dragon flies will move in on their own terms, look for their nymphs in the water, they help control fish populations by eating small fry.

 

[Amsomething]

Hi there. sounds like you are doing a good job. WIth all the plants and wildlife in the ponds you will have all the bacteria you need already in there now. Keep an eye out for rotting plants and if that occurs remove it. If the fish are active you have no real problem. We would all like photos of your set up so we can see what you have done. Thanks for the detailed descriptions by the way!! I dont think you have much to worry about at this stage. Also as not much light can get into the water you probably wont have an algae problem. The plants growing actively will use all the nitrogen in the water I suspect.

I keep getting a message that my photo files are too large. I'll work on that a and will upload as soon as I can.

 

[Amsomething]

Okay, so it will let me upload this one, which is one of the planters. I swear another hyacinth grew overnight! Time to clean them out again!

I'm working on trying to get the other photos to load.

 

[Amsomething]

View attachment 122498

Okay, so it will let me upload this one, which is one of the planters. I swear another hyacinth grew overnight! Time to clean them out again!

I'm working on trying to get the other photos to load.

 

[Ray G]

View attachment 122498

Okay, so it will let me upload this one, which is one of the planters. I swear another hyacinth grew overnight! Time to clean them out again!

I'm working on trying to get the other photos to load.

Looks like a goldfish heaven (for small goldfish).